Snake Eyes growled and asked, "Is this the time to be making jokes?"
Someone replied, "Don't mind us. It is just that this whole thing reminded us of your courageous attempt to unify the world."
He shouted at them, "Shut up."
They laughed harder. But they did stop after a while. It is because he is right. This is not exactly the best situation to bring out his shame and feast on it.
"Now tell us what your great plan is."
Many of them struggled not to laugh while Snake Eyes snorted. But he did reply.
"I have been planning to hire someone to help me collar you guys. I can call on her now to help us."
A leader said with derision, "So you want us to bring in a bigger tiger to remove the tiger currently troubling us. What will happen after this new tiger does the job but refuses to leave? Do we bring in an even bigger tiger?"
Snake Eyes asked in return, "Do you have a better plan? If so, feel free to say it when I am done."
Then he continued in anger, "Her help won't come for free. It will cost us. We either pay her a large amount of money to do the job and back off, or she will start extorting us."
This is the main reason he hadn't asked her for help to subdue the other gangs. It is because he can't control her.
He can't do anything if she decides to take over the gangs and keep them for herself. So he was hoping to purchase a slave. A slave will be more loyal than some villain. It is just that powerful slaves will be more expensive.
He made that suggestion to them too. "Our other option is to buy a powerful slave. We can pitch in to buy one. It will be ten times as expensive as hiring a D-rank super for a job, but at least we won't have to fear betrayal."
A skeptical leader asked, "Who will be in control of this slave if we do purchase it?"
No one could reply. Not even Snake Eyes had a good answer. He could only grit his teeth in anger and frustration.
The leader that had refuted Snake Eyes earlier decided to speak. He said, "So anyway, I have a better plan than that. It will be sneaky and evil and can backfire on us too. But if it works, it will solve our problem completely."
Snake Eyes asked, "How is your plan any better than mine if it can backfire too?"
The leader replied, "I haven't even explained the plan yet, and you already have a problem with it. Anyway, I have an answer for you. My plan is better than yours because we can prepare for the fallout and actually benefit from it. Now shut up and let me explain my plan."
"My plan involves setting up two traps. Hear me out."
The more he spoke, the more unhappy and angrier Snake Eyes became. At first, he was angry because this particular leader was one of the main reasons he had failed to take over the gangs during his previous attempt.
This leader is called Spiked Tongue. He is a physique class super with a spiked, elongating, and retractable tongue. It is a frog's tongue, but spiked with a piece of hard enamel.
So the leader possesses a tongue that can be ejected at a very fast speed and can penetrate most defenses. He practically has a gun in his mouth.
To top it off, his saliva is a substance that causes hallucinations. It is what his gang uses to produce Spike.
As a drug, Spike is subpar. The high from the drug is high and short-lived. It also causes a terrible hangover that deters many users from using it.
As if that isn't enough, the drug inhibits healing. It is a liquid that has to be injected to be used. The point of entry of the needle won't heal for days, and when it eventually does, it leaves hideous black scars. So it causes those who use it to become ugly.
It gives its users a bad image. Only the dirt poor with little choice bother to buy it when there are better alternatives. Not even the fact that it is not an addictive drug can convince people to try it.
Snake Eyes believes it is a failure of a drug. But he had to admit that it was difficult to deal with when he fought Spiked Tongue.
Not only could the spike on his tongue penetrate his defenses, but his saliva would also leave behind long-lasting effects. The headache from the hangover he got from it was the main reason why he began contemplating giving up even before he was defeated.
So he has not been happy with Spiked Tongue for a long while. But as he listened to the plan, he got more reasons to be angry with Spiked Tongue.
It was because the plan was too good. Despite his anger, he had to admit that it might be perfect for their situation.
He should have been happy about this. After all, a good plan that can solve their current problem is good news. But his mood only became poorer.
By the end of the meeting, he was ready to kill anyone that looked at him weird. It didn't help that the other leaders decided to make fun of him too.
They especially pointed out that his plan was shit. They said it wasn't great, which wasn't something they expected from the great white one. They said they were disappointed in him.
He said nothing while they took digs at him. He only bothered to vote when a call for voting was made for the acceptance of the plan. He made sure to vote against the plan because of his principles.
He was the only one who voted against it. So his actions didn't stop the adoption of the plan. He could only go along with them when they set a date for the execution of the plan.